September 16, 2014

Farmer's Market and the Weekend

This past weekend we went to the Farmer's Market and I found some goodies.

I got fresh onions, a bag of apples- plus two freebies, corn on the cob which was heavenly, green beans, two different kinds of honey and a pair of pumpkins.

I went right to the kitchen and started to prep the green beans to boil and freeze. My method comes from a cook book and it says to boil for 3 minutes (kills the enzymes) then cool them off quickly and freeze. I like to have an ice water bath to set them in to cool them off quickly.

I quickly transferred them to a towel covered with white paper toweling to dry them a bit but only for a few moments then off to

this foil covered cooling rack and put them in the freezer for about 20 minutes before packing them in their containers. I have a side by side and it doesn't hold big trays so I had to improvise with something that would fit. Freezing them this way keeps them from sticking to each other when they are packaged up.

This is the wonderful local honey that I purchased. The one on the left is from star thistle and notably light in color. It has a nice delicate sweet flavor.

I made an apple pie using the new apples- the flavor was great. They were gold Ginger Gold and had enough tartness to them to bake up nicely but they did get a bit softer than I'd like. It's just a tad early around here for apples- there will be a lot more to choose from soon.

I cut up new red potatoes, put them in a plastic bag with some olive oil so they'd get evenly coated and then sprinkled them with seasoning and paprika and baked them (425 deg.). I covered them with foil for the first 45 min. then uncovered them for 30 min.

I forgot to get hamburger buns so we just ate the burgers without any bread which was fine. No fancy table setting today...I was tuckered out by the end of the day and this had to do! I added 1 lg. egg to the 1 lb. package of ground beef, sprinkled in seasoning and made the patties up. It adds a bit of moisture to them and they are delicious that way! The beef is so lean it tends to seem dry at times so that's why I decided to try this method. So much for low cholesterol!

We had this wine along with our meal and dessert. It's a Moscato called DiCello, Moscato D'Asti. It was very good- I served it cold and I'm pretty sure that's the best way to serve it. It's actually a sparkling wine which I didn't realize. I thought the bottle was pretty and that's why I decided to try it! Ha ha, I'm no wine connoisseur, that's for sure!

Afterwards we went outside and enjoyed a fire.

We topped the evening off with a new movie I had picked up-

Captain American- The Winter Soldier. It was very good- I like action and science fiction so I'm good with this kind of movie. Staring at Chris Evans on the big screen isn't a bad thing to do either!! I'm sure my husband enjoyed Scarlett Johannson's tight fitting body suit too!

The pumpkins made it to the deck.... there will be more!

So that was my trip to the Farmer's Market and my Saturday. Sunday, it rained a lot so we did things around the house and I made a pot roast which we've enjoyed for a couple of meals now!

9 comments:

Liz, what a fun way to enjoy the Farmer's Market. I bet you were exhausted! What a back yard you have. That is just gorgeous and still so pretty this time of the year. I just love the smell of a fire and what better way to enjoy your yard.

Liz,What a great evening meal, looks so tasty, healthy and fresh! We often times eat the burger without the bun-we keep the carbs for candy after dinner! Your backyard is so dreamy...Have a lovely evening,Jemma

Liz, I bet the trip to the farmer's market was a blast! I get so caught up in all the goodies and want to bring everything home! I would love to get some pumpkins for the porches; but, it's still too warm here. Love seeing yours in your pretty vignette! And that fire...so cozy looking. Hopefully, we'll get to enjoy that soon!

Hi Liz, Sounds like a productive weekend. My mother taught me the freezing method many years ago. I love how this works for keeping veggies through the winter. Your meal looks so delicious. Love going to the farmers market but a bit early for here yet. We are just beginning to see pumpkins at the fall pumpkin farms. Your outdoor fire-pit is great and I imagine you really enjoy it throughout the fall season.Have a great weekend.Hugs

You make such perfect looking pies! How do you do that? My pies seam to look narly, even with a ready-made crust. Your meal looks delicious - the same type we like, even without a bun. You've got a good start on your pumpkins - looking good! :-)

ABOUT ME

Welcome to Home and Gardening With Liz. I have combined my previous blogs “Infuse With Liz” and “Sit With Me In My Garden” into this new blog. I love interior decorating and gardening. I enjoy redefining interior spaces by moving things around and reusing decorative items already found in the home. I also enjoy creating tablescapes and an occasional crafting project. I'm so pleased you've stopped by. I invite you to follow me and I do hope you will keep coming back!
Liz